Rust on free weights

Many years ago, I bought a cheap set of dumbbells at one of those used
sporting goods stores. The finish is now starting to crack and peel in
some places. I'm wondering if there is some type of vinyl or similar
coating I can put on them to stop the deterioration.
My set goes from 2 lbs to 80 lbs. The ones from 30 lbs on up are hex
weights similar to this:
http://tinyurl.com/4o4n2t6
They appear to be solid metal. There is no deterioration with them.
The smaller ones are round and appear to have some sort of metallic
paint over a dark brown metal (iron?). There is minor chipping and
flaking in various places. One of the 15 lb weights actually has a bit
of a hole in the handle. The first picture below is low res, the
second is higher.
http://tinypic.com/r/14nohw6/7
http://tinypic.com/r/212bng2/7
Is there anything I can get that will stick to these and stand up to
some banging about?
What about Plasti-Dip, the stuff used to put a rubberized coat on tool
handles?
Will I need to first remove or at least roughen up the existing paint?
Or should I just used this as an excuse to convince the boss that I
need a set of those adjustable dumbbells?

From what I saw in your pics, nothing you do will last more than a
couple years, if that.
Go buy new ones. Sell or give away your old ones. There are many kids
out there that would love to have your old ones. Or, sell them on
craigslist or at the scrap yard for recycling.
Hank <~~~ knows what Sam wants to hear. :-)

As an incentive for someone to buy them, maybe add some bondo (for
filling the holes) to the offer.
Option 2 (expensive?): Have them sand blasted, bondo the holes, prime
(with metal primer) and repaint. Spray primer and spray paint in
aerosol cans. If funds are limited, do just a few at a time. Start
with the ones that are damaged the most, if you screw up with the
damaged ones, pfftt, they were in bad shape anyway.
Option 3 (more expensive): Have them sand blasted, bondo the holes,
have them powder coated.
Compare those options vs selling and buying new.
If you're thinking spot repairs, maybe invest in a grinding wheel,
with a wire brush wheel, to buff (rather than sand) the rust spots.
Sonny

Are you sure? I've never used that Plasti-Dip, but it seems like if it
can coat tool handles and then stand up to being tossed around in a
toolbox, I would think that it could do this job. The weights don't
bang into each other or anything else. If it seals the surface, it
should stop the deterioration, no?

True, I'd like a new set,m especailly the adjustable ones, but I am a
cheapstake, too. ;-)

A lot of metal coatings will work fine but you have to remove all of the
old rust and paint first. Sand blasting is best but any of the rust
removers will also work. Make sure you clean the remover all off. If
surface prep is good then paint will be good and vice-versa.
The Plasti-Dip is good or even any metal paint.

So if I clean them up a little with a wire brush, I should be able to
paint them with Plasti-Dip and have it stick?
Since it completely covers the weights, if it can stick to itself, it
should work, no?

I've found a wire wheel on a bench grinder does a great job of
removing rust. If the item is not painted, it comes out looking brand
new.
You can remove the encasement around the wheel if there is one and use
a bigger wire wheel and that's good too.
BUT BE SURE TO WEAR GLASSES, PROBABLY SAFETY GLASSES. The wires from
the wheel come out once in a while and I have found them stabbing into
my clothes. One or two have hit my face, but the glasses keep them
from hitting my eyes.
But as I see it, barbells are all steel and sometimes rusted. If I
were a "real man", that's the kind I would want.

Price new or used weights first, at local sporting goods shops,
freecycle, thrift stores, garage sales, and apartment dumpsters on the
weekend closest to end of month. Like any exercise equipment, there is a
ton of it out there barely used, at close to scrap metal prices.
Now if your heart is set on rehabbing theses- peel off any plastic
covers, and haul them to local metal finishing job shop. They can
bead-blast them and apply a clearcoat cheaper and better than you can,
and they will look stunning. But expect to pay close to what new weights
would cost. Local marine supply can re-plastic them with the same stuff
they use to coat dock parts and trailer frames with- sort of a
plasticized baked-on powder coat system. But again, it ain't cheap.

I looked into getting a stove and having it painted harvest gold at an
auto body shop. He gave me a price quickly, but my memory is vague
now. It was going to be 300 or 400 dollars.
When I stripped the 32-year-old stove, I saw that both sides and the
back came from one piece of metal. I figured the sides were screwed
on, but I would have had to take the whole stove there to be painted.
Instead paid 100 for a beautiful 20 y.o. one.
The day I took the old stove to the dump**, aAfter I dropped my friend
off, two blocks away on the grass near the curb was another beautiful
harvest gold stove. They weren't throwing it away or selling it, but
still quite a coincidence. It was exactly like my "new" stove.
**where a guy intercepted me and asked for it, so he and I put it in
his truck so he could sell it for scrap.

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